Update 7.2 - Now on the Test Server

Gameplay changes across the board.

Welcome Back, Survivors!

Update 7.2 is now available on Test Servers and brings with it weapon balance changes, new ways to play with fire, and the long-awaited Ranked Mode. With Ranked Mode, PUBG players can finally test their skills against the best players in the world, rising (and falling) through the ranks for great rewards and of course bragging rights.

This update also brings Bots to PC servers, which we know has been a controversial topic among the Community the last few weeks. Rest assured, we plan on making improvements to how bots currently work and most importantly, bots will NOT be in Ranked Mode games. To learn more about our intentions with Bots, you can check out this link.

Take a look at all of Update 7.2’s changes below!

Test Server AnnouncementRanked Mode matches are available on the test server now. The Survival Mastery level requirement to play Ranked Mode on the test server has been lowered to level 1. We’ll be opening up normal matches with bots on the test server from May 14th 22:00 (PDT).

Ranked Mode

Transition from Survival Title to Ranked

Survival Title has been discontinued. The new Ranked system will now replace it.

Unlike with Survival Title, only matches played in the new and separate Ranked mode will count towards your rank.

A player’s Rank will increase or decrease after each match based on their performance.

Legacy Survival Title season data will still be available to view in the Season navigation tab.

Matchmaking

A new ‘Ranked’ sub navigation option has been added to the ‘Play’ section of the primary navigation menu.

Options for Ranked play include TPP or FPP Squad modes.

1/2/3 man squad options are also available.

Matches will feature a maximum of 64 players.

Ranked matches will not have Bots.

There are additional requirements for starting a match in the Ranked queue. All squad members must meet these requirements in order to begin matchmaking.

A squad cannot enter the queue if two players (who have completed placements) are too far apart in rank from each other (10 divisions maximum).

Players need to reach a minimal Survival Mastery level of 20 before they qualify for ranked.

Depending on their platform and region, players may need to verify their account using SMS before they qualify for Ranked mode.If an SMS verified account is banned, the device connected to it will also be permanently blocked.

Players who have received ranked matchmaking penalties for actions such as repeatedly ‘dodging’ games after loading onto the island will need to wait out a matchmaking penalty timer before they can play ranked again.

Players may cancel Ranked matchmaking at any time with no penalty.

Players who find a match and load into the pregame lobby will face Ranked penalties if they then choose to abandon the match.

Ranked Mode Ruleset

Ranked mode games will be randomly played on Erangel, Miramar, or Sanhok.

Ranked mode will operate under its own game settings.

Unique Season 7 Ranked settings include:

Overall increase in item loot spawns

No Crossbow spawns

Red zone has been removed

Motor glider has been removed

The timing and speed of the Blue Zone has been adjusted to increase the pace of play

Exact settings are subject to adjustment throughout the season and especially at the start of new seasons.

Changes in the ranked mode rule set will be posted via announcements

Tiers and Divisions

There are a total of 6 tiers in the Ranked system (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Master) with 5 Divisions (V – I) within each tier.

A player’s current rank is determined by their Rank Points (RP) in a given queue.

At the start of a Ranked season, players will be considered ‘Unranked’ in all queues.

The first 5 games they play in each ranked queue will count as placement matches.

At the end of the fifth placement match, players will be given an initial rank for the season.

How Climbing Works

After a player dies, they will receive an adjustment to their RP based on their performance. The metrics that determine performance are

Kills

Assists

Personal placement

When a player exits a Ranked match, they will be presented with a new pop-up modal celebration that shows the player their performance metrics as well as the change to their RP.

Players who are at Diamond rank or above will begin to face RP ‘decay’ if they do not play any Ranked games for a week or more in a row

Ranked Rewards

At the end of the season, players will receive Ranked rewards based on their Highest Ranked tier that season

Ranked rewards are unique and only obtainable by playing Ranked during the season they are awarded

All players will receive a nameplate and emblem recognizing their Tier

Players who ended the season at Gold or higher will receive a set of Ranked reward skins

Leaderboards

The Leaderboards have returned and have been updated to work with Ranked mode

Leaderboards now list the Top 500 players per server, sorted by RP

The Leaderboard you see is for the region you’ve played the most Ranked matches in.

Once a player enters the leaderboard, their region will be fixed for the rest of the season.

Leaderboard positions are updated every 4 hours

Players who end the season on the Top 500 Leaderboards for any queue will receive a small additional reward to recognize the achievement

Bot Opponents

As happens with many games, we’ve seen the general skill level of our players grow significantly over the last 3 years. While PUBG veterans continue to hone their skills and improve, we’re seeing more often that many newer players are being eliminated early with no kills – and oftentimes with no damage dealt. You’ve been telling us for a while that the widening skill gap is creating a more and more challenging environment for some of our players and we’re now ready to talk about our plan to help this.

Bots will only appear in normal games and are designed to appear less as your skill increases, but we’re also aware of their current state and are looking at your feedback. We’ll be adjusting the balance, intelligence, and functionality of bots as time goes on.

The Ratio of bots in each match is dynamic.

The ratio of bots in each match will change according to player skill and the matchmaking pool in each server.

Bots can only join Normal matchmaking games

Players will not be placed on a team with bots and bots will not fill in the empty slots in your party.

Normal match with bots will start fresh with new MMR

Bots actions are limited.

Bots can perform basic actions such as walk/run/crouch/prone/shoot and are also capable of doing basic low height parkour, swimming, parachuting and looting.

Leaning, jumping, ledge grab, and the use of throwables will be added at a later date.

Achievements, trophies, missions, and Mastery can still be earned and completed.

Actions against bots are counted towards missions, Survival & Weapon Mastery, as well as platform achievements and trophies.

Bot spectate and Death Cam.

Death Cams from the perspective of bots will be available, but they may look a little odd until we make our planned improvements.

When a player is killed during a match, spectator is prioritized to remaining human players. However, if all players are eliminated, players can spectate bots.

For more information on bots, please read our Dev letter from Console here.

Gameplay

Weapon & Armor Balance

Assault Rifle:

With the introduction of Ranked Mode, we wanted to get in some balance adjustments we’ve been planning. The goal of this balance adjustment is to strengthen the characteristics of each weapon type, so that tactics change depending on the firearms you choose and to help make sure one particular weapon isn’t seen as overpowered.

The M416 has long been the most powerful AR and one of the top guns in the game as a whole, so we’ve adjusted it and buffed some of the other ARs to give players alternative options.

We’ve also adjusted shotguns, which were seen as almost useless unless at extreme close range.

Increased reload times for M416, M16A4 and SCAR-L

We’ve adjusted the reload time of some of these mid-range weapons to make them less of a go-to for their effectiveness in all situations. This change should especially affect close quarters engagements, as you’ll have a longer window to rush opponents reloading an AR.

M416

While fully equipped, the M416 was lethal even in far distances with its superior stability.

Kill distribution rate over Distance/Phase

The power of rapid and accurate sprays were even capable of replacing DMR positions in ranges over 30m. We don’t believe one gun should always be the optimal choice in all circumstances, but rather give players choices depending on their needs in the current situation. Of course, we will be watching the data constantly for future adjustments.

Decreased base damage by 1 (41 → 40)

Decreased muzzle velocity from 880 m/s to 780 m/s

Changed damage curve distances from 60m – 450m to 50m – 350m

Weapon damage per round per pick up

M16A4, MK47 Mutant

These two weapons do not support full-auto firing mode, which already led to them being picked up less. Add to that stability issues or lower firing rates and it’s easy to see why they weren’t being picked up as often. We’ve made some adjustments to give them more life on the Battlegrounds.

Decreased recoil when firing in quick succession in semi-auto and bursts mode.

Added tracers (shooter only).

Beryl M762

Based on the analysis result on the weapon damage per round per pick up, it seemed Beryl M762 had somewhat less performance than expected compared to other assult rifles.

Increased muzzle velocity from 680 m/s to 740 m/s.

Decreased recoil.

Shotguns:

As the gun metas in the game have stabilized, shotguns were quickly left in the dust as they had little use in most late game situations. With this update, we have adjusted the shotgun group so that they can be used more reliably throughout a match.

Body damage multiplier changes

Increased limb multiplier from 0.9 to 1.05.

Increased head multiplier from 1.25 to 1.5.

Increased hip-fire accuracy.

Decreased accuracy penalty during movement.

Decreased damage drop over distance for all shotguns.

Saiga S12K

Extended and Ext. Quickdraw magazines now hold 10 rounds.

Suppressor adds slight pellet spread reduction (2/3 of choke bonus).

S1897

Increased the pump-action speed

Sawed-off

Increased reload speed.

Armor:

Vests not only provided armor but also provided additional inventory space. However, it felt pretty bad to immediately lose that space when your vest was destroyed in combat. Your survivability also drastically decreased once your vest was destroyed. leaving you extremely vulnerable until you found a new one. With this change, ‘destroyed’ vests will no longer disappear, and neither will your inventory space.

In addition, vests will continue to provide 20% protection and slight aim punch reduction once destroyed. The base protection level of the destroyed vest is the same no matter the type of vest you’re wearing. This should mean more competitive engagements, even if the situation doesn’t allow for the looting of a new vest.

Gas Can Improvements

With the last Gas Can update, we made it so gas cans could explode when being shot. We’re adding more options with this update, which should give players some more innovative ways to set traps and take down opponents.

You can equip the Gas Can in a melee weapon slot.

Press “attack” to pour gas on the ground. It takes around 7 seconds to empty the can.

Spilled fuel can be set on fire with gun shots, molotovs, and grenade explosions. Fire deals the same damage as a molotov, but burns longer (~20 seconds).

Spilled fuel evaporates in about 3.5 minutes.

You can also throw the Gas Can the same way as melee weapons (aim, then press attack), which causes it to release some fuel upon landing, making it easier to ignite and explode.

Gas Cans cannot be picked up or reused after being thrown, but can still explode.

Changes to Gas Can explosions:

Deals less initial damage. Max 40 dmg, which scales down with distance from the explosion.

Now sets the nearby area on fire like a molotov, dealing damage over time.

UI/UX

Main menu navigation bar update

With the addition of the new ranked mode, the main menu navigation bar has been updated.

Changes

New ‘Ranked’ option has been added under the ‘Play’ menu

‘Public Match’ has been renamed to ‘Normal’

‘Mastery’ and ‘Replay’ menus have been moved to the ‘Career’ tab

Tire UI Improvements

Improved the icon/ color of a vehicle’s tire UI to provide more intuitive information on tire status

100% – Grey

When tire is damaged – White

When tire has less than 50% durability – Blinking Orange

When tire reaches 0% durability (destroyed) – RED

Seat UI improvement

Improved the color of the vehicle’s seat UI to provide more intuitive information

General vehicle”s seat UI color changes

Players character: White → Yellow

Teammates: Green → White

Enemy players: Yellow → Red

Empty seats: Grey (Same as before)

Starting plane’s seat UI color changes

Onboard players: Yellow → White

Empty seats: Grey (Same as before)

Preview Scene Improvements

Character’s full body, instead of only torso, will be displayed when entering wardrobe, weapon, and equipment sections.

In item previews, items no longer return to their previous state when players click-off the mouse button

Game button UI improvement

The square and round buttons used in-game are now updated to have more consistency

The selectable area for ‘Game mode select button’ has been fully expanded

Kill feed icon and system message for train kills

New killfeed icon and system message for train kills has been added.

Item description improvement

Additional description has been added to item skins which had some unclear target item (Crowbar, Machette)